Cedar Street is the best route for light rail

Noise, vibration impacts can be mitigated

By Peter Bell, Jim McDonough and Chris Coleman

Over the last two decades, untold hours have been spent meeting with a wide range of community groups, exploring alternatives and developing plans for light-rail transit (LRT) in the Central Corridor.

The planned route for the line on Cedar Street in downtown St. Paul was first selected in the mid-1980s. After six alternatives were evaluated, it was reaffirmed by multiple public bodies in the 1990s, 2002, 2006 and 2008. The city of St. Paul, Ramsey County, the Metropolitan Council and the St. Paul business community all agree this is the best route.

Now, as the project is poised to begin final design, Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) has launched an extensive public relations campaign in an effort to delay or derail this vital transit improvement project – the largest in our region’s history.

MPR officials say they cannot live with the noise and vibrations that LRT would cause. Apparently they aren’t bothered by the bells from the adjacent churches or the sirens from emergency vehicles, both of which can be heard in the MPR studios located in the older part of their building.

As the lead agency for this project, the Metropolitan Council has commissioned extensive noise and vibration studies at sensitive locations along the corridor, which extends for 11 miles along University and Washington avenues between our two downtowns.

Under Federal Transit Administration (FTA) guidelines that govern such testing, noise impacts are classified as “severe,” “moderate” or “no impact.” The test results at MPR fall between the “moderate” and “no impact” categories. Our testing indicates some vibration impacts, but – like the noise impacts – they can be mitigated.

As our experienced project engineers, who have worked on other LRT projects around the country, have discussed with MPR executives, mitigation measures could include soundproofing their studios, employing a “floating” slab under the tracks to attenuate the vibration caused by LRT, and adjusting the use of train horns.

Consistent with FTA requirements, appropriate mitigation measures for vibration and noise will be identified in our Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) and fully developed in the coming year during the final design phase of the project.

At no point in the planning process would we have been required to consider an alternative route based on the noise and vibration impacts projected on Cedar Street.

Earlier in this decade, when MPR executives announced their need for expanded broadcast facilities, they conducted a very public search and considered some 40 sites in St. Paul and Minneapolis. The radio network employed consultants to help evaluate these sites.

At the time, MPR officials and their consultants were well aware that Cedar Street was the planned alignment for light rail. (Indeed, MPR retained a consultant at the time to analyze the noise and vibration issues, and the consultant concluded that the impacts could be mitigated.)

MPR ultimately decided to expand on Cedar Street after securing a generous public assistance package from the city of St. Paul that included a $3.3 million forgivable loan, $20 million in below-market financing from city bonds and $4.5 million in grants from four St. Paul foundations.

Now, MPR President Bill Kling says, “Either the line moves – or we move.”
Exploring an alternative alignment at this late hour would mean delaying the project for a year – and potentially much longer.

Moreover, it would mean abandoning a street in the heart of downtown that has the highest ridership potential, has a wide bridge crossing over I-94 and carries less traffic than alternatives such as Minnesota, Wabasha, Robert or Jackson streets.

Rail transit lines harmoniously coexist with noise- and vibration-sensitive venues in numerous cities around the country, including Denver, Houston and Newark. Mitigation measures have been used effectively in other projects and this can be done here, too.

The Central Corridor LRT line will provide improved access to important employment, educational and economic opportunities for thousands of area residents, including minority and disadvantaged populations. It also will help spur the economic revitalization in downtown St. Paul and along University Avenue.

MPR should get on board with the Metropolitan Council, St. Paul, Minneapolis, Ramsey County and Hennepin County to help make this transit line a reality – not jeopardize its chances of winning federal funding that is essential for construction.

January 2009

(Bell is chair of the Metropolitan Council, McDonough is chair of the Ramsey County Regional Rail Authority and Coleman is mayor of St. Paul.)